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Rifle shoots 24 inch group at 500 yards

If you have more time then money, maybe load development is the way to go.

If you have more money then time, maybe buying a new rifle is the way to go.

I feel like you have already lost confidence, maybe a new rifle is best, as who can put a price on confidence?

-Stan
good response, exactly my dilemma. I'll work on it after I get the chronograph

I appreciate the imput
 
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kinda what im doing here dont you think?


I just hope you understand how far you have to go before your ready to shoot at a living animal at that distance. It's a journey and you will learn a lot along the way. But it starts with being willing to learn and you are here asking questions so kudos to you. There are plenty of people on here that'll be willing to help. I suggest you get into the reloading section and ask for some help.

Could you give us a run down of the equipment you are using. Scope, rings, bipod and bag or rest, lead sled? Do you have a torque wrench? What are your action screws torqued too? My FIL didn't torque his action screws right and turned his 1moa gun into a 12moa gun. It took a minute to chase that one down for me. So sometimes it helps to know what you are working with to know what to check on.

Good luck and I wouldn't give up on this barrel yet.
 
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I just hope you understand how far you have to go before your ready to shoot at a living animal at that distance. It's a journey and you will learn a lot along the way. But it starts with being willing to learn and you are here asking questions so kudos to you. There are plenty of people on here that'll be willing to help. I suggest you get into the reloading section and ask for some help.

Could you give us a run down of the equipment you are using. Scope, rings, bipod and bag or rest, lead sled? Do you have a torque wrench? What are your action screws torqued too? My FIL didn't torque his action screws right and turned his 1moa gun into a 12moa gun. It took a minute to chase that one down for me. So sometimes it helps to know what you are working with to know what to check on.

Good luck and I wouldn't give up on this barrel yet.
I have been in this game for a long time. I have never had substantial success with load development or bedding. I question load development as are military snipers doing load development of just use what Black Hills sends them? In my experience accurate rifles shoot shit ammo accurately. Shit rifles shoot shit ammo really shitty and good ammo C+ or B-. Obviously I'm not positive about my conclusions. Thats why I'm here. I did get some good input that I appreciate.
 
The snipers also don't load random powders and bullets and say the rifle is shit if it doesn't shoot them.

Again if you would give a lot more details the people here could provide help. What is your loading procedure? Without knowing what you are doing it's impossible to help.

I'm my experience with newer stuff it's hard to not get something to shoot.
 
I’m gonna ask a question, and I really hope I misunderstood what you posted, but you stated that there is a knob in the adjustable cheek piece that is getting in the way of your cheek weld.

Please tell me that you’re not shooting a right hand stock left handed (or vice/versa), so the cheek piece adjustment knob is interfering with your cheek weld.

Please, for the love of God, please tell me that’s NOT what you meant……..
 
I have been in this game for a long time. I have never had substantial success with load development or bedding.
This is bizarre to say the very least. I have taken rifles that would not shoot for shit and through bedding and/or dialing in a good load managed to make them consistent sub .5 moa shooters. In fact almost all of the 21 big game I have taken, were taken with such rifles most over 400 yards- 638 and almost all one and done…..

You ask for help but you can’t even answer basic questions about your equipment but instead tell us what an awesome shooter you are.

Then you wonder why people think you are “fucking with us”…

I asked you if this is a new barrel, how many rounds down it and what length?

Criterions are known good shooters and furthermore they stand behind their barrels if there is an issue. They are outstanding in that repsect.
 
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The only reason I'm going to try is the garmin can give me data without messing with the barrel harmonics
This would only matter if you had a load you thought was worth pursuing.

Please, please learn how to reload safely before proceeding.

It appears you have absolutely no idea what you are doing.

Start with reading a proper reloading manual and getting the basics down. A good load at 100 is going to be decent at 500.
 
This would only matter if you had a load you thought was worth pursuing.

Please, please learn how to reload safely before proceeding.

It appears you have absolutely no idea what you are doing.

Start with reading a proper reloading manual and getting the basics down. A good load at 100 is going to be decent at 500.
I’m gonna ask a question, and I really hope I misunderstood what you posted, but you stated that there is a knob in the adjustable cheek piece that is getting in the way of your cheek weld.

Please tell me that you’re not shooting a right hand stock left handed (or vice/versa), so the cheek piece adjustment knob is interfering with your cheek weld.

Please, for the love of God, please tell me that’s NOT what you meant……..
left hand stock with a knob where it would be on a right hand stock
 
This would only matter if you had a load you thought was worth pursuing.

Please, please learn how to reload safely before proceeding.

It appears you have absolutely no idea what you are doing.

Start with reading a proper reloading manual and getting the basics down. A good load at 100 is going to be decent at 500.
oh never mind
 

I see multiple places online with Hornady and Nosler 280AI ammo in stock, try some.
 
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Are you saying you shot everything with a magneto speed attached to the barrel?
 
Army snipers shoot with same rounds always. Adjust optics for pressure temp elevation etc. That mirrors my experience
 
I feel bad for any living animal he shoots at. Maybe he’ll take up a different hobby before next fall.
 
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I feel bad for any living animal he shoots at. Maybe he’ll take up a different hobby before next fall.
His answers and all are so weird, this can't be real. Mr F class doesn't have a clue about what he's doing??? I mean come on, no way this is real or either the guy is a nut.
 
In my experience accurate rifles shoot shit ammo accurately.
I assure you, that is not necessarily the case

24" is such a large group, something is very wrongf

Obviously check your base, rings, etc. Since it's a Remage, how did you check headspace?

Can you measure some of your fired brass w/ a comparator to the datum on the case shoulder & provide those?
 
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You throw a random load together and shoot it at 500 yards expecting sub moa, you don't have the time to work up a load and now your wondering if it's the rifles fault ?
Makes perfect sense to me.
 
yes exactly what I did but it was really bad

Go put some more of the load #7 that actually shot good together and try them at distance. Shoot 100 to verify, then work your way out. Don't need the chrono, let the paper show you.


Even the best barrels in the world won't shoot some loads. And even cheap factory ammo is loaded for a known good velocity node for the bullet used. I know I have certain loads for 223 that I can put in any AR and they'll shoot good. I also know if I put .5grn less powder in, it won't shoot in anything.

Manufacturers invest tons of time and money into developing loads that shoot good on average in every rifle they try. You're not going to do it picking blindly from a book.
 
Army snipers shoot with same rounds always. Adjust optics for pressure temp elevation etc. That mirrors my experience

Yes. They have issued ammo. It has undergone lots of r&d to prove it's reliably accurate across thousands of rifles.

You don't.

That's a handicap for them. They have no choice.

I guarantee you, that if you tuned the load for every individual rifle it would get more accurate.


You're throwing paint on the wall expecting a Leonardo, and instead you're getting a brown blob and wondering where you went wrong.
 
He’s shooting 5 MOA at 500 yards. Either something is very wrong with this rifle/scope or he doesn’t know how to shoot.

I don’t think I can come up with a load so bad it would shotgun to 5 MOA.

Anybody ever have a load that was actually the imprecise?
 
He’s shooting 5 MOA at 500 yards. Either something is very wrong with this rifle/scope or he doesn’t know how to shoot.

I don’t think I can come up with a load so bad it would shotgun to 5 MOA.

Anybody ever have a load that was actually the imprecise?
I’ve seen bullets that didn’t properly stabilize and keyhole at 25 yards. The 100 yard groups was a couple feet. Was a hammer with the correct ammo

I’ll ask this:

How does a rifle shooting 24” groups at 500 produce the groups he shows on paper above?

Unless he goes back to those loads and retests that we won’t know if the mount/scope etc crapped out in between. It’s the only way at this point to learn anything about his 500 yard issues.

Repeat what worked. If it doesn’t work then something is wrong

For all we know now he may have screwed up and used the wrong components on the 500 yard target or something else on the reload end. OP doesn’t seem very knowledgeable when it comes to reloading and should take a step back and reevaluate
 
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I got a few 3 shot moa group at 100 yards and several 1.5, I bought a box of 150 grain ELD-M and used 6.5 stabil on 50 and IMR 4831 on 50. The IMR 4831 was much better that the stabil. It was the stabil that I was using when I shot at 500 yards. No pattern to group, just all over. I in 9 twist barrel
My .280 AI with 1:9.25 would not stabilize anything over 140… got nasty quickly after moving from 140 to 150… based off everything I read, it did not make sense but shot clover leafs at 110 meters with nosler 140’s and opened up to 1.5-2” with 150’s.. played with charge and seating depths but it didn’t seem to tighten better than 1.5-2” no matter what I did.. did not stretch to 500 but at 200 it was about 8-9” and I just quit after that.
All to say, try a lighter bullet
 
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For all we know now he may have screwed up and used the wrong components on the 500 yard target or something else on the reload end. OP doesn’t seem very knowledgeable when it comes to reloading and should take a step back and reevaluate
I’m concerned if he even got the barrel installed correctly.
 
This was my first attempt at load development

What do you mean in the last group that didn’t actually look like shit “bayonet was on rifle”? A magnetospeed bayonet or an actual bayonet?

That group tightened right up and looked acceptable. You may very well have a harmonics problem and could have other problems as well. I’d try a different bullet and a tuner. 280 AI has a factory ammo available as well that might be worth a try.
 
He’s shooting 5 MOA at 500 yards. Either something is very wrong with this rifle/scope or he doesn’t know how to shoot.

I don’t think I can come up with a load so bad it would shotgun to 5 MOA.

Anybody ever have a load that was actually the imprecise?
That’s how federal MSR shot out of my lr308. A 5 shot “group” at 100 yards that could be covered by a dinner plate- just. I’d accept that it was me except that I had some FGMM and Hornady match as well. The rifle shot both into sub moa 5 shot groups. It can happen. OP needs to source some factory ammo for a baseline.
 
Well, I certainly believe you guys about extremely (massively?) large groups related to the ammo used but I have never seen anything of that magnitude, personally.

And yes, getting a clear picture out of the OP has seemed a bit like pulling teeth.

Cheers
 
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did my seating test today. found the accuracy node was very obvious on my posted target. The group with the bayonet through me off and I used that for charge for seating depth. The result I got from that was to look at the node at 60.8 and how obvious it is. I just have to do some seating depth test at that charge and I'll get .5 moa or better. I was able to replicate the .5 moa group I shot yesterday so I know thats my node.

this rife is extremely finicky about which loads it likes. I've put together several rifles and never had such a picky rifle. But all in all I've found my 500 yard elk rifle. I'll post my 10 shot 500 yard group after I can find the time to get out to my range. I got to make money now to pay for all this stuff' Glad you all enjoyed my post.
When I go back and look at the photo of the target I posted you can't see the 60.6 charge group so the node isnt obvious from that photo. Man the info was staring me in the face but like i said the bayonet group was a huge red herring.
 
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Well, I certainly believe you guys about extremely (massively?) large groups related to the ammo used but I have never seen anything of that magnitude, personally.

And yes, getting a clear picture out of the OP has seemed a bit like pulling teeth.

Cheers
My uncle gave me a .223 and some 62 or 64 grain solid copper ammo with it. Sighted it in at 100 and groups were shit I don't remember exactly but definitely over 4" probably closer to 8". Seriously
Same rifle with 50grn amax fiochi 3/4moa.
 
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If any of my long-range guns were shooting no better than 7" groups at 500 yds, I'd re-barrel or get rid of the thing...
 
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If any of my long-range guns were shooting no better than 7" groups at 500 yds, I'd re-barrel or get rid of the thing...
I’d never consider shooting an animal at 500y with a rifle load that gives me 7in of vertical.
Actually this season, my hunting buddy’s new 7 PRC lightweight fluted barrel wasn’t shooting worth shit so he didn’t even think about going past 300 yards.
But every year I see boomer fudds trying a new BDC or the new Swaro turrets and counting clicks from 300 to 400 and think that because they managed to walk their hits to a 3 moa steel at 400y, they’re ready for long range hunting
 
The reality is shooting at an animal in excess of 400 yards is marginal for anyone. The wind is very difficult to judge and every one needs a sight in shot. I love these guys who talk about shooting an elk in the heart at 675 yards. I always invite these guys to my range so they can show me how its done and unless its a top notch competitive shooter they all embarrass them selves. I want my gun to be able to make a 500 yard shot but I've never shot at an animal that I knew was that far. There is a huge difference between a 18 lbs target rifle and 9 lbs hunting rifle.